In 2025, fire departments serving Hot Springs Village responded to 45 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $290K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Electrical wiring/equipment problem, other lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 62% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
348 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $663K cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 84 | — | |
| 2022 | 88 | +4.8% | |
| 2023 | 67 | -23.9% | |
| 2024 | 64 | -4.5% | |
| 2025 | 45 | -29.7% |
For the 5 building fires Hot Springs Village departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 140 building fires investigators classified across 2021–2025. The room or location where ignition occurred — kitchens, bedrooms, exterior, vehicle areas — tells you where to focus prevention.
| # | Area of origin | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cooking area, kitchen | 21 | 15.0% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 21 | 15.0% | |
| 3 | Wildland, woods | 15 | 10.7% | |
| 4 | Undetermined | 12 | 8.6% | |
| 5 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 11 | 7.9% | |
| 6 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 9 | 6.4% | |
| 7 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 7 | 5.0% | |
| 8 | Other | 6 | 4.3% | |
| 9 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 4 | 2.9% | |
| 10 | Wall surface: exterior | 4 | 2.9% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 30 | 21.4% |
NFIRS Heat Source (HEAT_SOURC) — the physical thing that started it. Spark or ember from operating equipment, an open flame, smoking materials, or hot embers from a fireplace are the leading culprits nationwide. Here's the Hot Springs Village mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 54 | 38.6% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 17 | 12.1% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 14 | 10.0% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 11 | 7.9% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 8 | 5.7% | |
| 6 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 6 | 4.3% | |
| 7 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 5 | 3.6% | |
| 8 | Lightning | 5 | 3.6% | |
| 9 | Cigarette lighter | 4 | 2.9% | |
| 10 | Heat source: other | 3 | 2.1% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 13 | 9.3% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Hot Springs Village departments in 2025. These 6 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $290,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $60,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $30,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $10,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $600 | Cooking fire, confined to container | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Hot Springs Village sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 28,410 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Natural | 5,091 | 13.2 mi | |
| 2007 | Natural | 4,000 | 45.7 mi | |
| 2014 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,067 | 14.5 mi | |
| 2011 | Natural | 1,535 | 38.3 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,500 | 41.3 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,401 | 31.3 mi | |
| 2012 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1,014 | 26.1 mi | |
| 2015 | Arson/incendiarism | 960 | 36.8 mi | |
| 2017 | Arson/incendiarism | 954 | 15.1 mi | |
| 2012 | Natural | 825 | 28.0 mi | |
| 2018 | Arson/incendiarism | 816 | 43.2 mi | |
| 2010 | Debris and open burning | 705 | 21.7 mi |
Top 1 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
| # | ZIP | 5-yr incidents | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 71909 | 348 |
Six Arkansas cities with population within ±25% of Hot Springs Village. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Hot Springs Village.
A 30-minute weekend can cut your home's exposure substantially. These four checklists are a good starting point.
Numbers reflect incidents reported by participating fire departments to the National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS) Public Data Release for calendar year 2025. NFIRS is voluntary — about 23,000 of roughly 30,000 US fire departments report — so totals are a strong indicator, not a complete census. Per-capita comparisons use 2023 ACS population estimates. Wildland fire data complements NFIRS with NIFC and USFS perimeters. Active-fire counts come from a dated NIFC snapshot, not a live feed.